Investing.com - European stock markets were lower after the open on Monday, as the U.S. dollar remained on the backfoot and oil prices continued to move south, weighing on sentiment.
Investors also mulled headlines out of the G20 finance ministers meeting in Germany at the weekend to gauge the potential impact that trade barriers could have on global growth.
The EURO STOXX 50 was down around 0.1% by 09:05GMT (5:05AM ET), France’s CAC 40 dipped about 0.3%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slid 0.3%. In London, the FTSE100 declined 0.2%.
Earlier, in Asia, markets ended mixed, with the Shanghai Composite in China closing up around 0.4%, while Japan's Nikkei remained shut for a public holiday.
The dollar extended losses to a fourth session, on track for its longest losing streak since early November in wake of the Federal Reserve's dovish guidance on the path of rate hikes this year.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down about 0.2% at 99.98 in London morning trade. It fell to 99.86 earlier, the lowest since February 6.
Meanwhile, oil prices struggled near the lowest level since the end of November amid ongoing concern over rising U.S. shale production.
U.S. crude fell 34 cents, or about 0.7%, to $48.97 a barrel, while Brent lost 26 cents to $51.50 a barrel.
Among early movers, Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) shares lost around 2% in Frankfurt after the German lender announced it was issuing 687.5 million new shares to raise $8.6 billion.
On the upside, Vodafone (LON:VOD) shares climbed after it merged its Indian operations with Idea Cellular to create the country's biggest telecoms business in a bid to contest a brutal price war sparked by new rival Reliance.
Across the Atlantic, U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open. The blue-chip Dow futures shed 17 points, or around 0.1%, the S&P 500 futures dipped 5 points, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures declined 5 points.
Market players will focus on a handful of Fed speakers in the week ahead, including Chair Janet Yellen on Thursday, as they look for more clues on the timing of the next U.S. rate hike.
Monday sees Chicago Fed President Charles Evans speak about current economic conditions and monetary policy at the National Association for Business Economics luncheon in New York.
Traders will also keep an eye out on U.S. housing data to gauge if a recent increase in consumer spending and inflation is translating into higher home prices and a pick-up in home sales.
Headlines from Washington will also be in focus, as traders await further details on President Donald Trump's promises of tax reform and infrastructure spending.
The House is expected to vote on a heath care bill Thursday, and if it passes that would be seen as a small step moving Congress closer to considering tax reform, though any legislation must also battle its way through the Senate.